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This is Week 2 of the Intensity over Volume cycle. Please read the linked Blog to learn more about the current programming.
In general, it makes sense to begin each mesocycle with slightly less perceived effort, leaving room to build week to week. The ultimate goal is to progress perceived difficulty week to week so that the FINAL week of the mesocycle (before deload) is the most challenging.
We will usually look to begin each “week 1” of a new mesocycle with ~3 RIR (Reps in Reserve) for COMPOUND movements, and 1-2 RIR for ISOLATION movements, unless stated otherwise.
Add weight or reps week to week so that you end up at 0-1 RIR in the week 4 (just prior to DELOAD).
RIR Example:
If you complete a set of 8 Reps with 2 RIR, this means you *COULD* have completed 10 reps
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Day 1 – Lower Body (Quad Dominant)
Part A and B repeat week to week. Track these metrics
A. Heels Elevated Pause Squat
(with BARBELL or Safety Squat Bar)
***Important to understand that this is NOT an equivalent movement to the standard back squat. Starting weights should be around 50% of what you would use for similar reps of a standard squat.
This is a QUAD priority movement, where the objective is to keep an upright torso and drive the knees forward as much as possible during the descent. Also avoid letting knees “shoot back” during ascent.
Build to ONE TOP SET of 6-10 Reps
Rest a few minutes
Then complete backoff set of 10-15 Reps
+ Superset the FINAL SET ONLY with:
Front Foot Elevated DB Reverse Lunge x 10-16 Reps (5-8/leg)
(quad focus; as much “knee over toe” as possible at the bottom of each rep)
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B. “At Home” Leg Extension Variation of choice (options below)
(select movement and stay consistent week to week)
Continue progression from prior week
***In subsequent weeks, whenever the TOP FEEDER SET hits 20 reps, add difficulty to all sets the following week
One Top Feeder set of 12-20 Reps to 1-2 RIR
Rest 30-45s
Complete another tough set to approx. 1-2 RIR (same weight/difficulty)
Rest 30-45s
Complete a final tough set to approx. 0-1 RIR (same weight/difficulty)
At Home Leg Extension Variations:
Sissy Squat (weighted as needed)
Scaled Sissy Squat
Bodyweight Leg Extension / Reverse Nordics
Scaled BW Leg Ext / Reverse Nodics – Band-assisted
Scaled BW Leg Ext / Reverse Nodics – Hand-assisted
DB Leg Extensions
Banded Leg Extensions
Inverted Leg Extensions (banded for added difficulty)
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C. Superset x 2 work sets each:
“At Home” Leg Curl Variation of choice (options below) x 10-20 Reps (approx. 1 RIR)
DB RDL (without hip extension) x 8-15 Reps
Rest 2-3 min
“At Home” Leg Curl Options:
Hamstring Walkouts (scaled option)
Gliding Leg Curls (with Rings/TRX)
Gliding Leg Curls (with barbell)
Hamstring Curls on Rower
Slider Leg Curls (Slider = skateboard, towel, socks, etc…)
DB Leg Curls
Stability Ball Leg Curls
Rings/TRX Leg Curls
Banded Leg Curls
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D. Superset x 2 sets each:
Russian Twists (Heavy DB) x 12-20 Reps (6-10 per side)
(weighted) Plank 30-45 seconds (challenging)
Rest 2-3 min
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E. Donkey Calf Raises (dip belt)
3 sets of 8-10 Reps
2-3 sec at the “deep stretch” position, and 1-2 sec at the top “contraction”
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Day 2 – Upper Body (Chest/Back Dominant)
Part A, B and C repeat week to week. Track these metrics
A. Alternate Movements:
FOR BOTH EXERCISES:
Build to ONE TOP SET of 6-10 Reps
Then complete backoff set of 10-15 Reps
Incline DB Bench Press (pause bottom)
Rest 2 min
Prone DB Row OR Helms Row OR “Head Supported” Row
(select Row based on comfort, and stay consistent week to week)
Rest 2 min
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B. Rack Pull-ups (options below)
(select movement and stay consistent week to week)
Continue progression from prior week
***In subsequent weeks, whenever the TOP FEEDER SET hits 15 reps, add difficulty to all sets the following week
One Top Feeder set of 10-15 Reps to approx. 1-2 RIR
Rest 30-45s
Complete another tough set to approx. 1-2 RIR (same weight/difficulty)
Rest 30-45s
Complete a final tough set to approx. 1-2 RIR (same weight/difficulty)
Rack Pull-ups arranged from HARDEST to EASIEST:
Weighted Rack Pull-ups
Unweighted Rack Pull-ups
Leg in front Rack Pull-ups (no elevation)
Foot-Assisted Pull-ups
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C. Push-ups (options below)
(select movement and stay consistent week to week)
Continue progression from prior week
***In subsequent weeks, whenever the TOP FEEDER SET hits 15 reps, add difficulty to all sets the following week
One Top Feeder set of 10-15 Reps to approx. 1-2 RIR
Rest 30-45s
Complete another tough set to approx. 1-2 RIR (same weight/difficulty)
Rest 30-45s
Complete a final tough set to approx. 1-2 RIR (same weight/difficulty)
Push-ups arranged from HARDEST to EASIEST:
Deep Deficit Push-ups on Parallettes or DB handles (weight vest as needed)
Ring Push-ups (weight vest as needed)
Standard “level ground” push-ups
Hands-Elevated “scaled” push-ups (elevate more to scale further)
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D. Finisher Complex x 3-5 Rounds:
If you want to take sets to 0-1 RIR, then 3 rounds is fine.
If you’d rather utilize more volume with 2-3 RIR, then do 4-5 rounds
***You can probably use the same weight for all movements. Feel free to go slightly above/below rep range to target the desired RIR
10-15 Reps Seated Lateral Raise
10-15 Reps Seated DB Tricep Extensions
10-15 Reps Seated DB Curls
Rest 2-3 min
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Day 3 – REST DAY
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Day 4 – Lower Body (Hamstring/Glute Dominant)
Part A and B repeat week to week. Track these metrics
A. Hip Banded BARBELL RDL or TRAP BAR RDL
(last cycle we did this with DB’s for higher reps. Now we will do it heavier with a barbell)
Build to ONE TOP SET of 6-10 Reps
Rest a few minutes
Then complete backoff set of 10-15 Reps
+ Superset the FINAL SET ONLY with:
“At Home” Leg Curl Variation of choice (options below) x 10-20 Reps (approx. 1 RIR)
Hamstring Walkouts (scaled option)
Gliding Leg Curls (with Rings/TRX)
Gliding Leg Curls (with barbell)
Hamstring Curls on Rower
Slider Leg Curls (Slider = skateboard, towel, socks, etc…)
DB Leg Curls
Stability Ball Leg Curls
Rings/TRX Leg Curls
Banded Leg Curls
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Continue progressing from prior week.
In subsequent weeks, increase weight for ALL SETS, when the FINAL SET of 8 Reps has a solid 1-2 RIR
6 sets of 8 Reps
Rest only 30s between sets
***Even though the ROM is SHORTER than a HIP THRUST, this movement is usually done MUCH LIGHTER than a thrust. The intention is to AVOID the thrust motion; instead SQUEEZE into extension!
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C. Foam Roller/Slider DB Hack Squats
Build to and complete ONE TOP SET of 12-15 Reps
Rest a few minutes
Then using the SAME weight as the top set, complete 25 Reps in as few sets as possible
Rest only 15-20s whenever you need to break (expect sets of 3-6 reps after the initial large chunk)
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D. Walking DB Lunges
Short steps knee over toe = quad dominant
Longer steps with vertical shin = glute dominant
Build to ONE TOP set of 12-20 Steps (6-10 per leg)
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E. Weighted Hanging Knee Raises
Build to a TOP SET of 8-12 Reps
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F. Superset x One Round:
Weighted Hanging Knee Raises x Max reps unbroken (same weight as top set)
Bicycle Crunches (controlled tempo) x challenging set close to technical failure
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Day 5 – Upper Body (Shoulder/Arm Dominant)
Part A and B repeat week to week. Track these metrics
A. One Arm DB Overhead Press (hand-supported)
Build to ONE TOP SET of 6-10 Reps per arm
Then complete backoff set of 10-15 reps per arm
Rest 2 min BETWEEN ARMS on all work sets
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B. Alternate Movements x 3 sets each:
Keep the same weight for all 3 working sets.
Increase weight on any set that can reach the top of the rep range with 1-2 RIR left
Incline Barbell “Nose Crushers” x 8-12 Reps
Rest 1-2 min
Prone DB Lateral Raises x 10-15 Reps
Rest 1-2 min
Prone DB Spider “Hammer” Curls OR Preacher DB “Hammer” Curls x 8-12 Reps
(select movement and stay consistent week to week)
Rest 1-2 min
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C. Alternate Anterior/Posterior Supersets x 2 work rounds:
Feel free to do one lighter warm-up round prior
Flat DB Bench Press x 10-15 Reps to 1-2 RIR
Superset Flat DB Flies (pause stretch) x 8-12 Reps to 0-1 RIR
Rest 2-3 min
Neutral Grip DB Seal Rows x 10-15 Reps to 1-2 RIR
Superset Straight Arm Pulldowns (Banded) x 12-25 Reps to 0-1 RIR
+ complete 3-5 PARTIAL REPS on the final set only (i.e. continue going even if you can’t make it all the way to your body)
Rest 2-3 min
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E. Superset x 2 sets each:
DB PJR Pullovers x 10-15 Reps
Incline DB Curls x 10-15 Reps
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Day 6 – OPTIONAL Conditioning Day
A. 4 Rounds (17 min total time):
Note that RPE is “Rate of Perceived Exertion” and this is an individually-based metric
This is based on the 1-10 scale where:
1 = the slowest movement possible
10 = the hardest sprint possible (for the required time domain)
Run 1 min @ RPE 6
Run 1 min @ RPE 7
Run 1 min @ RPE 8
Run 1 min @ RPE 9
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Run 1 min @ RPE 10 (only in final round)
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B. As Many Reps as Possible in 4 Minutes (Rest 3 min) x 2 Rounds:
30/20 Cal Bike (Male/female)
20 Russian KBS (unbroken)
10 Burpees
Max Cal Bike in remaining time
***If you fail to get back to the bike within the 4-minute period, decrease 5-10 reps on each movement the next round
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Day 7 – REST DAY
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